David T. Music And Stuff

Greetings to family and friends,

I thought I would give an update for those of you who wish to know how my lung cancer recovery is going.

It has not been easy to return to normal when I don’t remember what normal is. My last chemotherapy treatment was November 30th (2020), and I still have a mild headache, and it is now the third week of February. I get the feeling from my doctors that this is not normally a result of the chemo. I am one who rarely gets headaches. This feels like a hangover. I wish I had done something to deserve the hangover and, none of the headache medicines seem to work. My primary care doctor did have me make an appointment with a neurologist. I’m not sure why. At least it’s doing something. That appointment is near the end of February. And, to be clear, the headache seems to be getting milder and less debilitating.

I’m not complaining; just letting you know how my health and recovery are progressing. I’m slowly working back into my routine of waking up early, drinking coffee while checking emails, and lighting up the workshop while planning the work I intend to do for the day. I have fallen way behind in the work schedule I had started last Summer, working sporadically on projects I had started.

Here are two projects I am working on, now. as I attempt to get back to normal (what’s normal?). I often work at least two projects at a time so that, if I get frustrated or feel I’m becoming reckless (getting reckless or casual about carving a neck can be a recipe for disaster) while working on one project, I will switch to the other. This way, I get a fresh perspective on each project.

The P-Bass is way overdue for completion. I am now in the process of finalizing the neck and body, carving and sanding the neck so it feels just right, fitting it to the body for angle and height, and finishing the body shaping before I do the final sanding and staining/finishing. This is going to be an awesome bass! I can’t wait to see the look on my cousin, John’s face when he picks it up and starts playing it.

The Double (Upright) Bass is a Chinese built body and neck (separate) that were very inexpensive. Many good double basses are manufactured in China. They are well built and will make a fine instrument. The body is a ‘Hybrid’; meaning the back and sides are made out of laminated Maple while the front is solid Spruce. Many basses are made of all laminated wood because they won’t swell or shrink with humid, hot, or dry weather. My cousin, John plays a laminated wood bass in Florida where he lives, due to the humidity in that state. Although, he would like to try a hybrid out there. Maybe I can give him the opportunity to do that, someday soon . . . After I finish his electric bass.

There are also ‘Fully Carved’ basses that are made from solid pieces of wood carved and shaped under pressure. They are much more difficult to make, cost more and, are subject to weather changes. Still, they are what pretty much every bass player would love to own. You might see those most often being played in symphony orchestras.

The reason I bought a body and neck already built is that I don’t have the facilities to make acoustic instruments, especially basses. That takes a whole other shop and tools. And, I don’t mind finishing little discrepancies in the manufacture. The bass is pretty good as it is. I am doing basically the same thing with this bass as I am with the electric bass. Fitting the parts together, installing and gluing the neck with the correct angles, and doing a setup to make it play well before final sanding and setup.

I added some pics with descriptions of a quick and dirty ‘Frankenstein’ bass I put together for a longtime friend mostly to test my ‘Sunbursting’ technique. I think it came out well. And, it’s a very nice bass.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. There will be updates on these instruments as the building progresses:

Thanks for reading. Please, please, stay safe. Wear a mask. Don’t take any chances with your health and life and above all, the health and lives of your friends and loved ones. Please wear a mask.

Love to all,

David T

p.s. Comments are very welcome. You can comment at the end of this article.

The Precision-Style Bass

The Chinese Double Bass

The Warmoth/Ibanez Headless Bass